Lungi Ngidi celebrating a wicket vs ZIM (Source: AFP)
Lungi Ngidi made history for South Africa on Sunday when South Africa were up against Zimbabwe in a dead-rubber T20 World Cup Super 8 clash in Delhi. The 29-year-old took his T20I wicket tally to 90, a number that was never achieved by anyone from his country.
Ngidi broke the record of Tabraiz Shamsi, who had 89 wickets under his belt. While Shamsi took 70 matches to get there, all Ngidi took was 63 matches to claim the throne. Kagiso Rabada, another South African great, is third on the list, followed by Dale Steyn and Imran Tahir.
Most Wickets In T20Is: Rashid Khan Tops The Chart
However, Ngidi is not even close to the list of all-time T20I highest-wicket takers across all countries. Rashid Khan sits at the top, having made 193 wickets in 115 matches, followed by Tim Southee (164 wickets in 126 matches), Ish Sodhi (162 wickets in 140 matches), and Adil Rashid (161 wickets in 144 matches).
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Nevertheless, Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada, highly regarded as two of South Africa’s best-ever pacers, are far behind Lungi Ngidi’s.
Most wickets for South Africa in T20Is
- 90 wickets in 63 matches - Lungi Ngidi
- 89 wickets in 70 matches - Tabraiz Shamsi
- 83 wickets in 79 matches - Kagiso Rabada
- 64 wickets in 47 matches - Dale Steyn
- 61 wickets in 35 matches - Imran Tahir
Sikandar Raza Plays Solo Battle Vs South Africa
Meanwhile, Sikandar Raza led from the front to keep Zimbabwe in the game against South Africa after he had won the toss and opted to bat first. Raza made 73 off 43 balls, which had eight fours and four sixes.
At the time of writing this, Zimbabwe are 126/6 after 17 overs, with Ngidi returning figures of 1/18 off his first three overs. He could even improve his numbers with success in the death overs, while Zimbabwe would look for a respectable total to end the tournament on a high note.
For South Africa, Kwena Maphaka took two wickets, which included the prized scalp of Sikandar Raza, while George Linde, Anrich Nortje, Corbin Bosch and Ngidi had a wicket each (so far).
It is important to note that South Africa have already qualified for the T20 World Cup semi-final. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, have been eliminated from the competition. The next fixture, which will be played between India and the West Indies at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, will decide the final team of the knockouts, as England and New Zealand have already secured their places.
The T20 World Cup knockouts will take place all in India, on March 4, March 5 and March 8. Along with Eden, Wankhede Stadium and Narendra Modi Stadium will host the other all-important matches.
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